2015 Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan Premier Grand Cru Classé

One bottle available. 100 points from The Wine Advocate. 100 points from Jeb Dunnuck.

Château Haut-Brion is the oldest great name in Bordeaux and the only First Growth outside the Médoc, classified in 1855 from the deep gravel slopes of Pessac-Léognan. 2015 is the vintage that brought the estate back to the level of its legendary 1989, and it is the wine Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW scored a perfect 100 for The Wine Advocate.

Where this bottle came from

We do not buy rare Bordeaux off the open market. Bottles at this level reach us through private collectors we know personally, people who bought on release and cellared the wine properly ever since. Every rare vintage we list is inspected in person before we take it, and it stays in temperature-controlled storage from the moment it enters our hands. That is the only way we are willing to sell a wine like this, and it is why we can tell you exactly where it has been.

In the glass

Deep garnet. Crushed blackcurrant and black plum arrive first, followed by the smoked tobacco, graphite and warm gravel that only Haut-Brion gives. The palate is full and unusually opulent for the estate, the tannins firm but polished, and the finish carries on well after you have set the glass down. Superb now with a long decant, and built to hold for another three decades.

Critic scores

• 100 points · Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Advocate
• 100 points · Jeb Dunnuck
• 99 points · Jane Anson
• 98 points · James Suckling
• 96 points · Tim Atkin MW

The details

• Producer: Château Haut-Brion, Domaine Clarence Dillon
• Appellation: Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Bordeaux, France
• Classification: Premier Grand Cru Classé 1855 · Cru Classé de Graves
• Vintage: 2015
• Blend: 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc
• Alcohol: 14.9%
• Ageing: roughly 24 months in French oak, up to 100% new, much of it coopered at the estate
• Format: 750ml
• Drinking window: now through 2055 and beyond

Serving and pairing

Decant two hours ahead and serve at 62 to 64°F. Rack of lamb, dry-aged ribeye, roast squab, truffle risotto, or a well-aged Comté. If you are opening it for an occasion, open it early.

About the estate

Founded in 1553 by Jean de Pontac, Haut-Brion was the first Bordeaux property to sell wine under its own name, at a time when claret was sold anonymously by region. It was poured at the table of King Charles II, and Samuel Pepys recorded drinking "Ho Bryan" in his diary in 1663. Haut-Brion pioneered techniques now taken for granted across Bordeaux, including racking and ageing in new oak barrels, and in 1855 it became the only château outside the Médoc admitted to the First Growths. The Dillon family has owned it since 1935. Fifty hectares of red vines sit on gravel over clay and sand, up to eighteen metres deep in places, now ringed by the suburbs of the city itself.

Common questions

Is the 2015 Haut-Brion ready to drink?
Yes, with a long decant, though it is still young for the vintage. Jeb Dunnuck suggested cellaring bottles for seven or eight years from release and then enjoying them across the following three to four decades. Opened today it shows beautifully; opened in 2035 it will show more.

What is the difference between Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion?
They are neighbours in Pessac-Léognan and share the same ownership, the Dillon family having bought La Mission in 1983. Haut-Brion is the First Growth and tends toward finesse and perfume; La Mission is typically denser and more powerful. Comparing the two from the same vintage is one of the great exercises in Bordeaux.

Why is only one bottle available?
Everything in our rare and limited vintages is a single-parcel purchase from a private cellar. We cannot reorder it. When this bottle sells, the listing closes.

One bottle, shipped from our Florida cellar in protective packaging. Browse more rare and limited vintages or see the rest of our Bordeaux.